What preparation strategies and advice do IIM ABC first-year students have for CAT exam takers?

Three first-year PGP students from IIM ABC — all with 99.93 percentile and above CAT scores — shared candid preparation insights that are worth taking seriously, precisely because their profiles sit at the top of the funnel.

One thing that stands out immediately: their honest admission that none of them followed a structured, formal preparation regimen in the conventional sense. One among them did complete 10 mocks with rigorous analysis — and that qualifier matters. The absence of formal prep doesn't mean the absence of serious preparation. It means the preparation was intentional rather than mechanical.

What they consistently recommend doing:

First, analyze your mocks — don't just take them. In our experience, this is the single most repeated piece of advice from high scorers, and it holds here too. The diagnostic value of a mock comes from the review, not the attempt. Taking 30 mocks with shallow review is worth far less than taking 10 mocks and genuinely understanding where and why you're losing marks.

Second, start reading newspapers now — not after you receive interview calls. The habit needs to be built well before the GD-PI season. For newspaper choices, The Hindu, Indian Express, and Times of India are the standard recommendations. For a broader, more analytical perspective, international sources like BBC, The Guardian, the New York Times, and The Economist are worth incorporating — particularly for VARC conditioning and interview depth.

What they advise against:

Avoid consuming generic advice from hundreds of sources. The noise-to-signal ratio in CAT preparation content is extremely poor. Find what works for your profile and your weaknesses, and stay with it. Equally important: don't over-prepare to the point of burnout. Proper rest is part of the preparation, not a concession to laziness.

Section-specific strategies:

On DILR, the approach that worked for experienced high scorers is to practice sets without time pressure first, then build speed gradually. Trying to be fast before you're accurate is a trap many aspirants fall into.

On VARC, one important data point for non-engineering graduates: prior GRE preparation proved genuinely useful as a foundation. If you've prepared for the GRE or have a humanities or commerce background with strong reading habits, you may have a natural edge here that you're underestimating.

On mock series, the picture that emerges is a split between IMS and Career Launcher — both were considered adequate. There's no definitive winner, and in our view, the quality of your analysis matters more than which series you're subscribed to.

Profile-related questions:

For aspirants with lower academic scores — in the 6 to 7 GPA range — it's important to understand the distinction between two separate hurdles. Lower academics create friction during interviews, particularly for MBB consulting roles. However, strong work experience and a tier-1 college background can compensate to a meaningful degree. These are not the same as being disqualifying factors.

On college tier: it matters minimally for CAT admissions if your percentile is strong. Where it resurfaces is during SIP (Summer Internship Placement) recruitment, where brand of undergraduate institution does carry some weight in certain firm preferences. Being aware of this distinction helps you plan your narrative rather than being caught off-guard.

For freshers with profiles in the 9/9/8 academic range: the consistent view is that acing CAT is the primary lever. Strong academics combined with a high percentile make the admissions path relatively straightforward, and energy is better spent on CAT preparation than on over-engineering other profile elements at this stage.

On post-graduation gaps: approximately 5% of the batch had UPSC-related gaps in their background. Gaps are not automatically disqualifying — the emphasis is on whether you can explain them purposefully during interviews. A well-articulated reason for a gap is far better than a poorly explained stint.

The broader takeaway from these perspectives is that high CAT scores remain the dominant variable, and preparation quality — measured by how seriously you engage with your own performance data — matters more than preparation volume.

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